SITTING THROUGH THE "BUILD UP'......... WAITING FOR 'THE WET'

Saturday 19^th September to Saturday 14^th November Darwin.

We were travelling over country that we had seen four years before when we travelled the Gibb River Road, so we decided to travel quickly through to Darwin to get our base established before I flew south to help my parents.

Previously we had camped at the Howard Springs Caravan Park, so we opted for this to become our base. When booking in we informed them that we were staying long term. This proved to be a wise move as they put us in the section reserved for permanents, consequently we had ‘real’ neighbors, which gave Paul access to company while I was south, in Naracoorte.

Camp site tucked away in the lush tropical growth...but the leaves...Paul had to sweep them up every day,
 the plants were so stressed. They were also waiting for 'THE WET' to arrive

I had three days in Darwin, three beautiful warm days where we lounged in and around the pool and led a very relaxed lifestyle. I was building up energy because I knew what lay ahead in the cold, dreary south.

                  

                                                                   oooOOOooo

I returned to Darwin on the 5^th of October, very pleased to be back in the warmth and sunshine, it was now that our Darwin adventure could begin.

Our original intention was to stay in Darwin until after the Wet season had well and truly arrived. We wished to experience the spectacular lightning shows that accompany the break of the monsoon and to see the streams of water that flooded the area during the afternoon storms.

While we waited for the seasonal spectacular we visited areas that we were unable to fit into our itineraries on our previous trips to Darwin.

ms.

While we waited for the seasonal spectacular we visited areas that we were unable to fit into our itineraries on our previous trips to Darwin.

We travelled 150 Kms along the coast from Darwin to stay at a fisherman’s holiday resort called “Crab Claw Island Resort”. This resort is built on a small coral island surrounded by mangrove swamps that are flooded at high tide. It is an idyllic hideaway style resort consisting of 20 huts built on stilts with a board walk winding through the canopy of the trees and palms, linking them to reception and the dining area. 

Of course, like all resorts it had two pools and a bar, fishing tinnies for hire and a caravan park at the back. The local wildlife, including wallabies and bush turkeys roamed through the grounds, and were commonly seen down on the beach. It goes without saying that the wildlife most of the visitors were interested in was the fish, particularly the barramundi.

Paul didn't leave his work home....still inspecting residences for termites.

On our previous trip through the top end one of my wishes was to see crocodiles in the wild, uninhibited by humans, that is, I didn’t want to cruise along in a tinny with someone holding up a chook on a fishing line to encourage the crocs to jump out of the water. We had already been to Crocodyllus Park to view them in tanks so I wanted my croc to be ‘Au Naturel’.

We had been informed that a favourite crocodile viewing site was at Shady Camp, a popular fishing spot about 120 Kms towards Kakadu .

                 “You will see 100’s lying around on the weir that separates the sea form the freshwater of this river mouth” 

                          we were confidently told by locals.

Last time we went out….we waited on the viewing platform….nothing.

We decided to try our luck again….we arrived at Shady Creek expecting to see 100’s of crocs lying around, posed, waiting for the odd tourist to come along with their camera………..nothing.

We hiked over to the viewing platform downstream from the weir and patiently waited.

Suddenly a very large object rustled away from under the viewing platform, through the water lilies towards the water’s edge. We saw …nothing. The crocodile must have slid silently into the water, because the next thing we knew two ducks close to the lilies suddenly took flight……..then….like a fossilized log, this prehistoric creature rose to the surface and patrolled menacingly up and down along the edge of the lilies.

Tick that one of the bucket list, it was far more gratifying to see my crocodile in the wild.

We had become fully qualified members of the permanent residents of the caravan park and so were invited to the resident’s social activities. This was very beneficial for Paul while I was away. (I refuse to call our selves trailer trash because every one we met was warm, friendly and welcomed us into the community).

 Halloween has never been a part of our celebrations in the past, but Paul and I entered into the theme and thoroughly enjoyed our night with the rest of the residents as we tricked and treated each other.

Geordie photobombing without his costume!

One very special trip we took was a ferry trip across to the Tiwi Islands for a cultural tour. We landed on Bathurst Island which although smaller than Melville Island, it has the majority of the Tiwi population residing on it. 

If you want to experience the true cultural values of the indigenous people of Australia then I recommend you take this trip. It’s not only a trip back through many generations; it is also a trip every Australian should make to appreciate the oldest and purest culture in the world.

Bathurst Island ferry at Cullen Bay Marina Darwin.

We were privileged to be given an in sight into the family structures and the clever way that incest was prevented in these small isolated communities.

Each person was from one of four signs, rock, moon, earth and sun, and then each family had a totem, for example bush fowl, shark, wild pig etc. People from the same totem cannot marry so this prevents weakening of the genes. Our hosts painted their faces in traditional masks, using ochre and clay and performed the dance of their totem.

Freddie our guide with his face paint representing his totem sign - Bush Turkey
NB Freddie is one of the top Tiiwi footballers.

Theodore, painted in his totem, Wild Pig and Freddie, both doing the Crocodile dance.

 We also participated in the smoking ceremony which was a welcome to country and to drive out evil spirits we may have brought with us. They recommended that we treat it as a good luck ceremony and to buy a lottery ticket. 

Leaves of the iron wood tree are doused in the smoke of a small fire
 and then tapped around the head, shoulders and thighs of each visitor.

We were very privileged to be given an insight into Tiwi burial ceremonies and were given a guided tour through the cemetery to view the Christian, (Catholicism is practiced widely through the Islands)and ancestral totems surrounding each burial site. (No cameras were used out of respect)

After morning tea (billy tea and damper, I think this may be for the international tourist’s benefit ) we were treated to an exhibition of traditional art accompanied by wonderful stories that have been handed done for centuries.

Tiwi version of the Sistine Chapel

World famous Tiwi art centre.
The founder of this gallery and workshop, Bede, has just returned to Bathurst Island
after an audience with Queen Elizabeth.

Our final stop of the day was to look at the beautiful timber, weather board Catholic Church which is over 100 years old. 

Next to the church is the original radio shack where the incumbent priest radioed through to Darwin to alert them of the Japanese aircraft enroute to Darwin. They must have thought he had been drinking the communion wine because he was ignored twice and the third time he radioed this information, it was too late, the fighters were over Darwin and bombing the harbor and town.

Leaning against the radio shack is the propellor of a Japanese fighter plane that crash landed
on Melville Island.The pilot was captured by the Islanders
 and sent to Cowra Prisoner of war Camp. He instigated the Cowra breakout.

 As a parting gesture, the Japanese fighter pilots flew back over Bathurst Island and strafed the church with bullets. You can still see a bullet hole in the weather board cladding.

Boarding for trip back to Darwin.
No need for special wharfs on Bathurst, the shores are so steep the ferry can sail right in.

The friendly Tiwi Islanders are very proud of their beautiful culture and willingly share it with others.  They have a great sense of humor and are also very good footballers . The best way to start a spirited conversation with them is to mention an AFL team …..and away they go. They know all the stats , coaches, key players, and also have contributed several players to AFL… with this common bond it really highlighted the fact that we are all proud Australians.

We had been waiting two months for the ‘wet’ to break, we had completely saturated our Darwin knowledge….. we were starting to get restless. At this stage a knowledgeable weather guru reported that ‘el Ninio’ was influencing Darwin’s weather and that the ‘wet’ was not likely to start until the end of December……..

That was our cue. Time to pack up and move on. So on the 14^th of November we packed up and headed down to Katherine, ready for the next leg across to Broome.

We arrived in Katherine at 12.30!

At 12.32pm the severest storm to hit Darwin in many years unleashed its fury on our ex neighbors at the caravan park. We missed the storm by three hours. All in all we were most fortunate as the damage in the caravan park was quite severe. Katherine, not to be outdone, put on a severe storm at about five oclock for our benefit. Again, lady luck was on our side, limbs fell on many of the deserted sites around us but we were safe and secure.

So in a way….. The Wet had arrived!